4 ms·

I'll preface that I really did enjoy Dune, because what I'm going to say about the book will come off as negative. The first third of the book reads like an en

I'll preface that I really did enjoy Dune, because what I'm going to say about the book will come off as negative. The first third of the book reads like an encyclopedia article with a slow moving plot tacked onto the side, and since most of the information and the intrigue is laid out so plainly, the reader is left in a state of passive consumption. The last two thirds are entirely okay. The narrative is interesting in the abstract, but it won't keep you on the edge of your seat when you're reading it. This is where most people break off. Dune is difficult not because the text is complex or challenging, but because it's a slog. Like reading a history textbook conveyed through character's internal monologues, and passable pros. It's an exceptional piece of world-building, and a SciFi landmark. But it doesn't challenge you to guess what's next, and tension in the book is diffused by the book's tone. When someone goes to read Dune, I'm rarely surprised to find that they've either given up, or realized in retrospect that they would have been better served spending an evening perusing the series' wiki.

the_af 5y ago
Except I don't think it's difficult, I actually agree with your second to last paragraph. Dune's prose is simple to the point of being uninteresting; the inner monologues are an overused trick; there are very few mysteries that aren't explained almost as soon as introduced, so there's little tension. And you know from the get-go that Paul's hero journey will succeed. The Digital Antiquarian makes an interesting point that Herbert's actual message -- that messianic heroes are bad for mankind -- gets lost by the fact Paul succeeds in Dune with little negative repercussions; it's only in the following books (much less read than Dune!) that the terrible consequences unfold. (Like you, I really like Dune. I'm agreeing with your points.)
throwaway17_17 5y ago
Maybe I am alone in this, but a book that 'reads like an encyclopedia article with a slow moving plot tacked onto the side' sounds amazing to me. I am unashamedly fond of the book and I feel like it is perfectly framed and paced. I also put Tolkien's The Silmarillion as my favorite Middle-Earth material. But even with my admitted love of the material and the particular style and presentation of Dune, I think the story of Dune (and the rest of Herbert's Dune works) is well told and captivating for people who like more traditional narratives as well. As a follow-on thought, I might be more correct in saying I enjoy 'post-structural' stories, since Steven Erikson's Malazan novels are often at the top of my personal GOAT lists.
s1artibartfast 5y ago
This is essentially the same reason many people don't like Tolkien. If you don't enjoy world-building for the sake of world-building, you're in for a bad time
- the_af 5y ago
  Agreed, though the world of Tolkien is a way deeper rabbit hole than Dune's. It's more detailed, more thought of, the backstory actually exists written down and it goes back millenia, some of its constructed languages you can actually speak in, whereas most of the backstory of Dune is only hinted at. Forgetting the non-canon and widely repudiated attempts by Herbert's son, that is. Yet Lord of the Rings often tops the list of books (fiction) readers prefer! I think LotR used to be obscure as Dune is nowadays, or maybe even more, and at some point it sprung into the mainstream and it hasn't left since. Peter Jackson helped tremendously, but I think the surge in popularity happened even before that. Everybody knows about Elves (and the fact they are spelled "Elves" and not "Elfs") and Hobbits, but not as many people know about Arrakis, Fremen and Harkonnen.

the_af 5y ago

Except I don't think it's difficult, I actually agree with your second to last paragraph. Dune's prose is simple to the point of being uninteresting; the inner monologues are an overused trick; there are very few mysteries that aren't explained almost as soon as introduced, so there's little tension. And you know from the get-go that Paul's hero journey will succeed. The Digital Antiquarian makes an interesting point that Herbert's actual message -- that messianic heroes are bad for mankind -- gets lost by the fact Paul succeeds in Dune with little negative repercussions; it's only in the following books (much less read than Dune!) that the terrible consequences unfold. (Like you, I really like Dune. I'm agreeing with your points.)

throwaway17_17 5y ago

Maybe I am alone in this, but a book that 'reads like an encyclopedia article with a slow moving plot tacked onto the side' sounds amazing to me. I am unashamedly fond of the book and I feel like it is perfectly framed and paced. I also put Tolkien's The Silmarillion as my favorite Middle-Earth material. But even with my admitted love of the material and the particular style and presentation of Dune, I think the story of Dune (and the rest of Herbert's Dune works) is well told and captivating for people who like more traditional narratives as well. As a follow-on thought, I might be more correct in saying I enjoy 'post-structural' stories, since Steven Erikson's Malazan novels are often at the top of my personal GOAT lists.

s1artibartfast 5y ago

This is essentially the same reason many people don't like Tolkien. If you don't enjoy world-building for the sake of world-building, you're in for a bad time

the_af 5y ago
Agreed, though the world of Tolkien is a way deeper rabbit hole than Dune's. It's more detailed, more thought of, the backstory actually exists written down and it goes back millenia, some of its constructed languages you can actually speak in, whereas most of the backstory of Dune is only hinted at. Forgetting the non-canon and widely repudiated attempts by Herbert's son, that is. Yet Lord of the Rings often tops the list of books (fiction) readers prefer! I think LotR used to be obscure as Dune is nowadays, or maybe even more, and at some point it sprung into the mainstream and it hasn't left since. Peter Jackson helped tremendously, but I think the surge in popularity happened even before that. Everybody knows about Elves (and the fact they are spelled "Elves" and not "Elfs") and Hobbits, but not as many people know about Arrakis, Fremen and Harkonnen.